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Pope Leo XIV meets Ales Bialiatski, presses AI ethics after encyclical

cultureMay 27, 202623672

Pope Leo XIV met Belarusian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski at the Vatican and pressed for stronger AI safeguards following his Magnifica Humanitas encyclical. Bialiatski, a former political prisoner, briefed the Pope on the crackdown in Belarus and the human rights risks tied to surveillance and data-driven repression. The encyclical warns that some AI systems "reduc[e] victims to data" and calls on designers, lawmakers, and institutions to prioritize human dignity over efficiency. The meeting pairs papal moral authority with a prominent human rights voice, raising pressure on governments and tech leaders to adopt concrete AI rules that protect vulnerable populations.

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